Heart of Iron
by Lucy Heart of Fairy Tail
Summary: The last thing Naruto was expecting was being able to control black sand out of nowhere, but he's not complaining. The Third Kazekage was a master of it, so maybe he can be better?
1. Satetsu

I'm making fanfictions about Naruto having different bloodlines such as, Fuuton (Boil Release), Shōton (Crystal Release), Meiton (Dark Release), Bakuton (Explosion Release), Hyōton (Ice Release), Yōton (Lava Release), Shakuton (Scorch Release), Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse), Kōton (Steel Release), Ranton (Gale Style), Jinton (Swift Release), and Tenseigan (Reincarnation Eye). Since I'm doing Jiton (Magnet Release), and already have Legend of the Blind Ninja with Mokuton (Wood Release), so I'm down to two. If there's one you guys want me to do let me know.

* * *

He stared at the black ball in the palm of both his hands. He had no idea what it was or how he was doing it but that didn't matter all that much because it looked pretty cool. The boy, with blonde sun kiss hair, crystal clear blue eyes, three whisker marks on his face, wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, pants, and sandals. This boy's name was Naruto Uzumaki Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yoko. Naruto was currently standing outside of the orphanage focusing more on the black hovering ball in his hands as the rest of the children played away from him. He was aware the people of the village despised him, but he didn't really care about that because he had something else to worry about. Hence, why he was staring at the hovering black ball in his hands having absolutely no idea what to do with it or how he was creating it in the first place. And that worried him. What was he supposed to do with it? He had no idea. Sighing he dropped the black ball and watched it slither back up his shirt, that was another thing he couldn't understand. Where was it coming from?

Before he could think much about it he felt a wall of the black stuff shield him from something that was thrown from behind him. Looking over his shoulder in absolute shock he saw the black disintegrate revealing what looked to be a rock. The rock fell in the palm of his hands and once it did the rock became crushed particles in his hand. His gaze fell on the one that threw the rock making the assailant and the others around him flinch back in fear before they took off running inside.

Naruto didn't care and simply walked back inside the orphanage house heading towards his room thinking about how he did what he did just now. It made no sense. Opening the door to his room and sitting down on the bed he began to think, _'Something's not right. I was never able to do that_ _before so why now? I don't know who to talk to about this either since the Hokage only comes here sometimes. I don't know what I'm supposed to do since I don't know how it works. Earlier it protected me from getting hit with a rock, but what else can it do?'_ he was brought out of his musings when the black stuff shot at something to his right making him blink in confusion not understanding why it happened again until he turned to his right to see the matron of the orphanage before him, her wrist held tightly by the black thing. He noticed she had a look of fear on her face, but another thought crossed his mind right now, _'Was she here this whole time?'_ looking over the woman's shoulder he saw one of the employers Natsume run into his room and started yelling at the woman not even caring about the black thing that was still gripping her wrist.

"What are you doing?! If you don't stop this right now I'm reporting you to Sandaime-sama!" Natsume yelled at the head matron. The employers here really seemed to care about him, so maybe he should try asking them about where this black stuff came from.

"Shut up! This demon needs to learn his lesson!" the head matron yelled back only to cry out in pain as she felt her wrist be gripped harder by the black substance.

Naruto frowned at the woman, "Don't yell at Natsume-san. I don't like it."

"I can say whatever I want to this demon loving-" the woman snarled only to cry out again and fell to her knees as her wrist was gripped even tighter to the point where it would be snapped.

"Apologize to Natsume-san. She's a nice person who doesn't deserved to be abused by someone like you." Naruto stared down at the woman who began crying. He was going to demand she apologize to Natsume again when the woman in question placed a gentle hand on his shoulder shaking her head.

"Its okay, Naruto-kun. Let her go." Natsume told him gently.

Naruto couldn't say no to the woman, out of all of the employers she was his favorite. Somehow he managed to get the black thing to let the monster woman's wrist go. The woman stayed down on her knees holding her wrist, the blonde boy got off the bed and went towards Natsume with a look of confusion, "Natsume-san, I don't understand what I did just now."

Natsume gave him a sad smile and bent down till she was eye leveled with him, "I know, don't worry Sandaime-sama might be able to help. Why don't we go see him?"

Naruto nodded in agreement, if anyone knew what to do it would be the old man.

* * *

Natsume and Naruto stood before the Hokage, the elderly man gave Naruto a gentle look as Natsume explained what happened at the orphanage.

"Naruto, could you show me this "black thing," as you call it." Hiruzen asked politely.

Naruto scrunched his face trying to figure out how to show him, but he brought his hands up to form the same black ball in between hands making the old man's face form a surprise look.

Hiruzen stared jaw slacked at what Naruto was doing, _'Satetsu (Iron Sand)?! But how?!'_ he could not for the life of him figure out how Naruto managed to awaken such a rare Kekkei Genkai, well rare in Konoha but not for Suna. As far as he knew neither Kushina nor Minato had such a bloodline so how in the world…? Clearing his throat he asked that Natsume leave the room, she did but not before giving Naruto a hug which he returned as she left the office. Hiruzen turned his full attention to Naruto now, "Naruto, I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay?"

Naruto nodded, "I'm listening, Hokage-jiji."

The old man chuckled at the nickname, "Naruto my boy, that black thing is called Satetsu (Iron Sand)."

"Satetsu (Iron Sand)? What's that?" Naruto tilted his head.

"It's part of a Kekkei Genkai known as Jiton (Magnet Release) that's normally common in Sunagakure no Sato, in fact their Third Kazekage wielded it before he disappeared." Hiruzen informed him.

Naruto's eyes lighted up a little, "So…I have a Kekkei Genkai that's common in Sunagakure no Sato and the Third Kazekage wielded it?"

"That's right." Hiruzen nodded.

Naruto looked down, "But I don't know how to use it, it moves on its own to protect me but that's all."

Hiruzen smiled, "With training you can learn to control it, in fact I will be assigning you teachers to help you out with that actually. For each day I will assign a different teacher to you and they will help you not only control your Satetsu, but they will tutor you in other things."

Naruto smiled, "I…I want to surpass the Third Kazekage and my Iron Sand the greatest."

The old man chuckled, "I know you will."

* * *

The first teacher Naruto had for the next day was an ANBU operative named Tenzo. After he was set up in a new living place which was an apartment complex having left the orphanage. He said goodbye to Natsume and the other employees while ignoring the head woman and the other children who he didn't really care for all that much anyway. Now he was facing Tenzo an ANBU member who also possessed a Kekkei Genkai that was different from his but it would help him with control so he didn't complain.

"Listen well Naruto," Tenzo said, "For today we'll work on controlling your Satetsu."

Naruto looked eager, "Hai, Tenzo-nii-chan."

Tenzo froze for a minute and Naruto thought he had insulted the man until he felt positive and happy emotions rolling off of him.

 _'_ _Maybe I should call him that from now on. He seems to like it.'_ He thought.

Yamato meanwhile was grinning from ear to ear when the boy called him "nii-chan." Oh he could not wait to rub this in Kakashi's face sometime in the near future. Regaining his composure he began speaking again, "Right, well as I was saying a Kekkei Genkai for the very first time takes lots of control as well as practice. As I'm sure you know we have clans here that have their own unique Kekkei Genkai."

Naruto nodded his head, he remembered the old man telling him about the Aburame, Yamanaka, Nara, Inuzuka, Uchiha, Hyūga, and Akimichi. There were some minor clans living here too, but he'll learn about them later.

"Before we begin, I want to see how well you can control your Satetsu." Tenzo said.

Naruto nodded then lifted his arm up and sure enough black sand came out from underneath him simply moving about doing nothing at all.

Tenzo nodded his head, "Good so far, okay try aiming for that tree."

Naruto flicked his wrist as the iron sand shot towards the tree slamming into it before it stopped and returned to the blonde. Both of them noticed a hole in the tree showing just how hard the iron is.

"Hey, Tenzo-nii-chan?" Naruto got the man's attention.

"Yes?"

"Is that supposed to happen?"

"Well…in a way, yes. Anyway, I think you got the control part down. Question is…how exactly are we going to make sure you have all of your black sand stored up?" Tenzo wondered.

Naruto was wondering the same thing. He was also wondering exactly where the hell the stuff was coming from.

Tenzo got an idea and brought out a small water gourd that was empty, meaning it hadn't even been used yet, "We can use this for now until we can get you something that's exactly your size."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Well excuse me for being small for my age."

Tenzo snorted and rubbed the blonde's head, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll hit a growth spurt soon."

An evil grin appeared on Naruto's face as he used the black sand to toss Tenzo in the lake that was near them. The man rose above the water and sent a mocking glare towards the boy who simply smiled, "What's wrong, Tenzo-nii-chan?"

 _'_ _I'll definitely get payback for this!'_ Tenzo thought.

* * *

Naruto's next teacher was a woman named Yugao, who had a motherly aura around her that screamed protective and deadly at the same time. He should know, because he can feel her emotions easily. For today they weren't working on control but basic history, which is why he was sitting in her living room with another occupant by the name of Hayate who he assumed to be her lover.

"Make sure you pay attention Naruto-kun, you need to know this before you enter the Academy." Yugao lectured.

"Okay, Yugao-nee-san." Naruto smiled.

"Good." Yugao said going into full-blown lecture mode prompting the blonde to take notes without being told to. The blonde was finding this information to be interesting, a little boring maybe, but still interesting. When it was time to take a break the blonde asked if they could go out to eat and the two adults agreed. Walking through the village streets were less than pleasant because of all the whispering and pointing in the blonde's direction. Yugao was worried Naruto would be affected by this and unknown to her the blonde was aware of the whispering he just didn't really care much about it, especially now since he was really hungry. He knew everyone in the village hated him and sure he was sad about it at first, but after hearing the same old things over and over again, the whispering and glares, sensing their negative emotions, he started…getting bored. If they were going to act like bullies then he saw no reason to try and be nice to them. He stopped in his tracks having smelled something really good, turning his head to the right he walked into the establishment. The stool was pretty high, but me managed to get up on it and sit down followed by Yugao and Hayate who sat on either side of him.

"Welcome!" Teuchi appeared from the back.

"Yo." Naruto greeted.

Teuchi laughed, "What would you like?"

Naruto looked at the menu and spotted pork-flavored ramen, "This one." he pointed.

"Oh, pork flavored ramen, huh? Good choice!" Teuchi grinned.

"Thank you…uh…"

"You can call me Teuchi!" Teuchi said.

"Teuchi-san." Naruto smiled liking the old man's positive aura, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Welcome, Naruto! Feel free to come here anytime you like!" Teuchi said preparing the boy's ramen.

"Thanks." The blonde replied.

Having ramen for the very first time was the best thing in Naruto's life! Why you ask? Simple. The ramen tasted amazing! Like it was food from the gods! And he got to eat it!

"So good~" Naruto moaned, "I want more please!"

"Coming right up!" Teuchi was already on it.

Yugao giggled, "Looks like Teuchi has a favorite customer."

Hayate nodded while drinking some tea.

* * *

Hiruzen was in his office having just finished another round of paperwork when Tenzo walked in, "Ah, Tenzo. How was Naruto's training session with you?"

"It went really well," Yamato reported, "His control over Satetsu was pretty impressive for someone his age, unfortunately I didn't know where else to begin but guide him in how to properly control it. I don't have the faintest clue in how to teach him any jutsu's."

"Hmmm," Hiruzen had a thought, "I have a suggestion that I'm entrusting you with."

"A suggestion?" Yamato questioned.

"Yes, I'm thinking about having Naruto spend about 4 years in Sunagakure in order to help better control his Satetsu as well as learn some jutsu that will help. If we're lucky once they see him use it someone there will teach him how to use the sand." Hiruzen thought.

Yamato thought about it, "Its not a bad idea, he's 4 years old right now and since he'll be staying in Sunagakure for 4 years that means he'll be 8 years old when he returns to the village."

"That's right, once he returns I'll enroll him in the Academy." Hiruzen said.

"What do you think the council will do once you tell them about this?" Yamato asked.

"Hmph, what makes you think I'll tell them anything about this?" Hiruzen took out his pipe.

"Eh…?" Yamato blinked.

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, "I'm the Hokage meaning _my_ word is law, not theirs. I'm also under no obligation to inform them of his Kekkei Genkai either, and if they so much as complain well…there's a reason I'm known as the Shinobi no Kami (God of Shinobi)."

Yamato said nothing as he stood there, _'I'm glad I won't be on the other end of that threat.'_

Hiruzen coughed into his fist, "Anyway, you'll be going with him to Sunagakure no Sato seeing as how the boy responds positively to you more than Yugao and Hayate."

"He does?" Yamato blinked.

"Of course. He calls you "nii-chan," Tenzo. That means the boy sees you as a positive male figure that he can look up to and depend on no matter what." Hiruzen smiled.

Yamato couldn't help the smile that spread to his face, being called a brother figure had made him feel really good.

"You and Naruto will be heading out to Sunagakure no Sato starting in two weeks," Hiruzen informed him, "I've already sent a letter to Rasa letting him know."

"Yes sir." Yamato saluted.

* * *

"Sunagakure no Sato?" Naruto blinked.

Yamato nodded, "That's right, Hokage-sama believes it to be a good idea because there's a chance someone there will help train you with your Satetsu while I train you in other areas."

Naruto looked down for a moment, "Does this mean I'll be leaving the village…?"

Yamato saw the boy was struggling with his emotions when it came to the village, and sympathized with him, "Yes, for 4 years. Once you return you'll be entered into the Academy."

Naruto didn't really want to leave the village because Hokage-jiji, Yugao-san, Hayate-san, Teuchi-oji-san, and Ayame-nee-san. On the other hand…he'll be out of the village and away from the villagers for 4 years, not to mention he could make new friends in Suna so this might be a good thing. Lifting his head up he looked Yamato in the eye and nodded, "I'll go, but I want to say goodbye to everyone first."

"Sounds fair." Yamato agreed.

* * *

Naruto returned the hug Yugao gave him as he and Yamato were at the gates of Konoha. Two weeks went by in a flash, and in all that time he enjoyed every minute of it. His days with Yugao and Hayate helped him learn more about the history of Konoha, not only that but they taught him other things too, like proper manners. Yugao made it perfectly clear that he needed to learn this, and since he really liked her he didn't complain anymore. He went to see Teuchi again too and met his daughter Ayame who hugged him the first time she saw him rubbing against his cheek and everything, she even insisted he call her "nee-chan" therefore he did. It made it really hard to leave but he knew he had to. He packed all his things a week earlier, and after that he said goodbye to Teuchi, Ayame, Yugao, and Hayate. Teuchi and Ayame both gave him a hug and told him to send them letters everyday to let them know how he's doing which he promised he'd do. Yugao told him to make sure he eats healthy, gets some goodnight sleep and send her and Hayate letters everyday too. Once that was done he went to see the old man to say goodbye, since he was the last one. The old man gave him a hug and book too that had the label "Iryō Ninjutsu" then some books on Futon, Raiton, Katon, Suiton, Doton, and Fūinjutsu. Yamato took the items and placed them in a backpack that he gave to Naruto to carry.

So here they are now, at the village gates of Konoha getting ready to head out, but before they could leave Yugao gave him one last hug with Hayate standing by her side rubbing his head with such affection.

"Do you have everything?" Yugao asked.

"I do."

"Promise to write?"

"Yes."

"Eat healthy?"

"Promise."

Hayate fought the urge to smile, she acting like a mother which wasn't really all that new but it was still fun to see her become such a mother hen to not just Naruto but to the people around her. Yugao reluctantly moved away from the little blonde then looked at Yamato, "Make sure you take care of him Tenzo."

"You have my word that I will." Yamato will make sure to keep Naruto safe, "We should be going now."

"Right, take care Naruto. Next time we see you, you'll be stronger than you are now." Hayate smiled.

Naruto smiled, "See you guys in 4 years."

And with that, the two departed from Konoha, never to return until 4 years later. Once those 4 years have passed, this village will see a new Naruto whether they liked it or not.

* * *

 **Next Time: Sunagakure no Sato**


	2. Sunagakure no Sato

It was hot.

Really hot.

Naruto had no idea that Sunagakure no Sato was out in the middle of the dessert, not to mention scorching hot! There was some wind blowing but it wasn't much, it's a good thing he was wearing a short sleeved black shirt. Looking Yamato the little blonde noticed the man didn't seem all that bothered by the hot weather.

 _'_ _Lucky.'_ Naruto thought barely keeping pace with Yamato.

Yamato looked down and saw Naruto was struggling, chuckling a little he placed a hand on top of the blonde's head, "Its okay, you'll get used to this weather sooner or later."

Naruto pouted, "How are you okay, anyway?"

"I'm in ANBU Naruto," Yamato reminded, "Sometimes we get called out to other foreign places just like Jounin and Chūnin, but for ANBU like us its different."

"Different?"

"That's right, when the Hokage goes to diplomatic meetings with either the Daimyō or the Kage's we the ANBU go with the Hokage as his bodyguards and protect him in case something happens." Yamato explained.

"Wow…being a Kage sounds tough." Naruto commented.

"It is Naruto." Yamato agreed.

"Why don't you become Hokage?" Naruto questioned innocently.

Yamato almost tripped on absolutely nothing after hearing such a question, "Wh-What?!"

"Your strong so you could become Hokage and the old man can relax." Naruto elaborated.

Yamato rubbed the back of his head, "Not that I don't appreciate the kind words, but I don't believe I'm Hokage material."

"Hokage material?"

"You see, for one to be elected Hokage they have to have the Hokage's recommendation as well as the shinobi council and civilians of the village. In other words, the Hokage chooses the successor to become the next Hokage." Yamato went into detail.

"Oh…" Naruto had never thought that selecting someone to be the next Hokage could be so complicated. He felt bad for the old man and hoped he'd chooses a successor soon. Feeling Yamato stop walking he looked at the man then looked ahead to see they've arrived at Sunagakure no Sato, their destination. The blonde's heart started beating a little due to nervousness of being in a new place, but since he was with Yamato he didn't feel all by himself.

 _'_ _I'm finally here…'_ he stared at the village with determination, _'I'll master my Satetsu! I swear!'_

Yamato approached the gatekeeper and showed him their papers as confirmation from the Hokage that they would be staying here for 4 years as part of a exchange program between the two Kage's. The gatekeeper nodded in understanding allowing them to enter the village. Yamato turned to Naruto, "Are you ready?"

"I am." The blonde nodded.

Yamato smiled, "Let's go then." Both of them entered the village and the blonde couldn't help but look around in wonder at the differences between Konoha and Suna. The first thing he noticed were that the buildings looked to be made up entirely of sand much to his astonishment.

"Wow…the buildings look like their made of sand." Naruto stared.

"That's because they are," Yamato told him, "During the Warring States Period, the Shodai Kazekage gathered desert-dwelling shinobi and under his control thus forming the village you see now."

"That's amazing!" Naruto said.

Yamato chuckled, "Starting to like Suna already?"

"Yeah, I am…" Naruto's eyes trailed off as he looked over at a playground seeing the other kids playing with a red ball throwing and bouncing it towards each other, but his eyes were more focused on the figure sitting on the swing by himself looking lonely. It was a boy with fair skin, green eyes, and short auburn spiky hair; wearing Suna standard clothes. The blonde watched as the ball was kicked too high over another kids head and rolled over by the lonely boy, he saw the lonely boy's eyes widen before showing a small smile. The boy got off the swing and picked up the ball intending to give it to them but the other kids started running away from him while the rest of the villagers looked on in…fear? Naruto saw the boy look down still holding the ball looking very sad, it was for a split second but the boy's image turned into him for a second before going back.

 _'_ _He's…just like me…'_ Naruto looked at Yamato, "Nii-chan…"

Yamato placed a hand on the blonde's head, "I know. Go on and play, I'll go meet with the Kazekage."

Naruto nodded and walked over towards the boy gaining some attention by the people who tried to warn him that it was dangerous making him roll his eyes, _'He's not dangerous, he's just lonely and needs a friend that's all.'_ Before he knew it he was standing right in front of him, "Hey."

The boy looked up in surprise that someone called out to him, he was even more surprised that it was a boy who looked to be the same age as him and was smiling at him too.

Naruto held his hands out, "Can I play with you?"

Silence.

The villagers around them thought the blonde was crazy to even try to befriend the red haired boy.

"Has he lost his mind?!"

"That monster will kill him!"

"He's as good as dead!"

Naruto ignored them and held his arms out in anticipation waiting for the other boy give him the ball. The boy in question looked both confused and hopeful, "You…want to play with me?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded his head, "So can I?"

The red head smiled, "Okay!" he slowly gave the ball to the blonde, as soon as the blonde touched it sand began to creep up the boy's arm to try and hurt Naruto much to red head's horror as well as everyone else's but what happened next was something no one saw coming. Black sand moved to intercept the hostile intent preventing the blonde from getting hurt before creeping back towards him. For awhile both boys looked lost and didn't know what to say, but the rest of the villagers as well some shinobi recognized the black sand instantly.

"J-Just now was that…?"

"Iron Sand!"

"Just like the Third Kazekage!"

"Is that boy related to the Third Kazekage?!"

"Someone alert the Yondaime Kazekage immediately!"

Naruto was still staring at the red head before a huge smile took place, "That's amazing! You can control sand, too?!"

"Eh?"

"Just now, that sand I saw was yours, right? I can control sand too, except mines is called Satetsu (Iron Sand)!" Naruto grinned.

"Your not…afraid of me?"

Naruto shook his head, "You didn't do it on purpose, so its okay. Besides I came here to learn how to control my sand anyway. Mine acts on its own, too."

"Just like me…"

"Yeah, oh by the way my names Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto asked.

The red head gave him a happy smile at being accepted and gaining his very first friend, "G-Gaara Sabaku…"

"Hey, your name sounds cooler than mine." Naruto pouted then grinned, "Anyway, lets play!"

"Okay!"

 **Kazekage's Office**

Rasa was currently in his office speaking to Yamato about what the Sandaime Hokage wrote down in his letter about Naruto studying here for 4 years under the pretense of an exchange student program.

"I understand the situation." Rasa told him.

"That's good," Yamato breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm very sorry about inconveniencing you like this Kazekage-sama, but Naruto unlocking the ability to use Satetsu within Konoha has become dangerous for him."

"I know, Hiruzen explained in his letter. Though I must say, I am surprised myself that a child born in Konoha managed to unlock a bloodline that first appeared in Sunagakure during the Third Kazekage's time in office." Rasa expressed.

"That's why the Sandaime figured it would be best to have Naruto study here in Sunagakure no Sato for 4 years before returning back to the village. For his own protection." Yamato explained.

Rasa leaned back into his chair, "I take it you have…a controlling council?"

"Something like that," Yamato shuddered, "There's no telling what they'd do to him at the age he is now. He's too vulnerable right now, not to mention is reputation in the village."

"Jinchūriki." Rasa said.

"Yes…"

Rasa looked out the window, "If there is one thing I regret in my life…its making Gaara the host for Shukaku."

Yamato said nothing and let the man speak.

Rasa closed his eyes, "Because of heavy cuts to our village's budget, I made my own son a Jinchūriki to serve as a weapon for the village. Temari and Kankurō weren't compatible…but Gaara was. Shukaku was sealed within Gaara while he was still Karura's womb by Lady Chiyo. Due to the stress of childbirth Gaara was born prematurely and Karura…my wife…died."

Yamato was wondering why the man was telling him this, but said nothing and let him continue saying what he wanted to say.

The man opened his eyes, "Before she passed away she held Gaara's small form and vowed to always protect him, and she has."

"I see…but, why tell me this?" Yamato wondered.

Rasa gave him a side glance, "I'm not sure myself."

* * *

Gaara was having the time of his life playing with his new friend Naruto. They were throwing the ball at one another then kicked it towards each other having a blast not even registering their surroundings. The red head had never smiled so much in his entire life, nor laughed for that matter. Once they got bored of playing ball, Naruto suggest to playing hide and seek instead stating he's never played before but seen kids back play it. Gaara expressed the same interest, so Naruto was designated as "it," while Gaara hid from him. Naruto closed his eyes and counted to 10 before opening his eyes and seeking out Gaara who he managed to find easily despite the red head hiding behind a tree behind the playground. The blonde wondered how he even managed to find Gaara in the first place but let it go soon after, instead opting to play more with his new friend.

"Hey Gaara, have you always been able to control sand?" Naruto asked.

Gaara nodded, "I have. It sometimes hurts people too…but I don't do it on purpose."

Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know that. You've tried telling the people here that too, right?"

Gaara nodded, "I have, but they just run away from me and call me a "monster."

"Back home they call me "demon brat," Naruto looked up at the sky, "I really hate it. I think all the time, "why do they call me such a mean thing?" "I didn't do anything wrong!" I really hate it…"

"Whenever they say hurtful things to me my chest starts to hurt, why do you think that is?" Gaara asked.

Naruto looked at him, "I asked Hokage-jiji that once before too when he visited the orphanage. He said its because my heart is in pain."

"Your heart?" Gaara tilted his head.

"I didn't get it at first either, but after awhile I did." Naruto said, "When I lived at the orphanage the only people who were nice to me there were the people that worked there. The mean lady in charge and the rest of the kids don't like me and would often say mean things to me all the time. It hurt." He placed his hand on his chest.

Gaara looked sad for his friend.

Naruto stretched his arms above his head, "Oh well, I don't know why they hate me so much but I wont let them get to me! I'll live for those who do want me around!"

Gaara gave him a shy smile, "M-Me too…"

"Since I'm gonna be here for 4 years we can hang out together whenever you want." Naruto said.

Gaara blinked, "4 years?"

"Yeah, I'll be staying here for 4 years then I have to go back to Konoha so I can go to the Academy and be a shinobi."

Gaara looked down sadly, "Oh…" he really didn't want his new friend to leave.

"Its okay, we can spend a lot of time together while I'm here and when I leave we can still keep in touch." Naruto smiled.

"Really?" Gaara said hopefully.

"Mm, I promise!" Naruto grinned.

Gaara's smile brightened before nodding, "Mm!"

"Naruto." Both boys turned to see Yamato standing there next to the Kazekage who looked stoic but also intrigued.

Naruto went over to them with Gaara trailing right behind him hiding behind the blonde as they walked near the adults. While Naruto was curious as to why Gaara was hiding behind him all of a sudden but he didn't comment on it, figuring Gaara was just shy. When they both approached the adults finally Naruto was the one to speak, "Nii-chan, Kazekage-sama." He greeted.

 _'_ _Nice Naruto! Showing manners and being respectful is a good start!'_ Yamato sent a mental thumbs up in his head. Thank god Yugao and Hayate taught him proper etiquette before they left the village.

Rasa stared at the blonde who in turn gave him a calm look showing no signs of nervousness or fear, unlike his son Gaara who was hiding completely behind the blonde showing shyness and slight fear of his own father. He was thinking about what to do with Gaara actually, and Hiruzen sending him a letter about Naruto's abilities might just help with what he had in mind.

"So you're Naruto Uzumaki?" Rasa spoke, "Hiruzen spoke very highly of you in his letter, even spoke about your ability to control Satetsu."

Naruto merely nodded.

"In that case, I will train both you and Gaara personally in controlling your sand and in helping you create your own jutsu's." Rasa suggested.

Both boys had wide eyes at the declaration and Yamato's jaw dropped taken completely by surprise. Naruto couldn't believe the Kazekage of all people was suggesting to train both him and Gaara! Realizing he'd just been staring instead of speaking he finally responded to the man, "S-Sure! Right, Gaara?!"

Gaara looked hopeful at his father who nodded his head in confirmation making the small child smile, "Yeah!"

"Then its settled then," Rasa said, "For now you two should check into the hotel we have here, you'll have your own private room. You two will be living there for the 4 years you'll be saying here."

Yamato managed to get his wits together and respond to the man, "Y-Yes! Thank you very much!"

"Gaara, lets go home." Rasa said gently.

Gaara was surprised by his father's sudden change but didn't question it as he slowly approached then stopped to look at Naruto who smiled return, "Let's hang out again tomorrow!"

The young boy turned to his father who gave a slight nod in return, "After training, you two can do as you please."

Gaara gave his father a shy smile, "Th-Thank you…"

Rasa said nothing and instead walked away with little Gaara following right behind him leaving Yamato and Naruto behind with smiles plastered on their faces.

Naruto looked up at his older brother, "Hey, nii-chan?"

"What?"

"Why did the Kazekage offer to take Gaara home? Are the like me and Hokage-jiji?" Naruto asked innocently.

"Not exactly, those two are father and son Naruto." Yamato revealed.

"Eh, really?! But Gaara looked scared of him earlier." Naruto exclaimed.

"That's true too, but I believe Kazekage-sama wants to try and make up with his son by offering to train him personally right along with you. Taking it slow is always a good thing, never forget that." Yamato explained.

Naruto nodded in understanding. He may not know much about the world just yet, but he was willing to learn a lot about the world, both the good and the bad.

* * *

After checking into the hotel and resting up, the two Konoha natives were on their way to the Kazekage tower where they would be meeting up with the Kazekage and Gaara to begin training. While walking towards the tower Naruto the villagers were smiling at him making him slightly uncomfortable, so he shifted a little more towards Yamato even grabbing the man's hand for reassurance. Yamato noticed the boy's unease and squeezed his hand in assurance, "What's wrong?"

Naruto kept his eyes forward but you can still tell he still uncomfortable with all the smiling, "They're smiling at me."

Yamato figured that was the case, which was to be expected seeing as how the people of Konoha would sneer, glare, and say things behind his back loud enough for him to hear. After experiencing rejection like that, it was only natural the boy would be uncomfortable around people who would actually smile at him warmly and not faking it. The man sighed, _'Its going to take him a long time to get used to something like this.'_ When that day comes he'll make sure to stay by Naruto's side and help him through it.

It didn't take them long to get to the Kazekage's tower, once the arrived they were greeted by the secretary telling them the Kazekage was waiting for them on the roof. With a polite bow the two of them walked towards the stairs before taking slow steps to get to the top to meet up with the Kazekage and Gaara. Finally arriving on the roof they spotted both Rasa and Gaara already there waiting for them, the red heads eyes brightened having spotted his friend, "Naruto!"

"Gaara!" Naruto ran towards the boy with a bright smile on his face, "I can't wait to start training!"

"Me too!" Gaara agreed.

Yamato bowed to Rasa, "I hope you don't mind me staying to observe your training methods?"

"Not at all." Rasa said turning towards the boys, "Gaara, Naruto, I will be teaching you both how to properly control your sand. Watch me closely."

Naruto and Gaara stood still and nodded their heads in wait, the man almost smiled but kept his stoic expression.

"Very well…we will start off with something very small. First, try to shape your sand into something, anything." Rasa instructed.

Naruto and Gaara thought long and hard about what they wanted to shape their sand into. Naruto finally got an idea of who he wanted to create with his sand and got right to it. Sticking both hands out he concentrated aware that his iron sand was responding to his will and started shaping into what he wanted to create. The iron sand slowly started to take the form of a person, when it was finished they saw who Naruto made it form into.

It was Gaara.

Yamato thought it was cute that Naruto shaped his iron sand into his new friend. He noticed the Kazekage show a small smile, while Gaara was smiling from ear to ear.

Naruto grinned, "How's this?"

Rasa nodded, "Impressive. Gaara it's your turn."

Gaara started concentrating to get his sand to do what he wanted until finally he got it to look like a grinning Naruto.

"D-Do you like it?" Gaara asked.

"Its awesome! Thank you, Gaara!" Naruto grinned.

Gaara smiled brightly in return.

Rasa nodded in approval, "Very good. Shaping your sand into things, such as people or objects can help you control your sand. Keep this in mind that sometimes using something of a higher caliber will not always give you good results, starting out simple is best and will keep you alive much longer."

Naruto and Gaara nodded in understanding of the man's words. The blonde may not be used to people like Rasa in Konoha but this man was still a Kage and was actually trying to teach him something important just like Hokage-jiji would. Almost like a father figure, even though he's Gaara's father he felt he could start to see the man in such a way.

"Now then…" the air shifted as Rasa was no longer going to take things slow, "Now that you understand its time to get serious!"

Naruto took it back. This guy is way too scary to be the loving, caring, father type!

* * *

"That's enough for now."

Naruto and Gaara dropped to the floor in complete and utter exhaustion having been using their sand do protect as well redirect some sand attacks the Kazekage sent at them. They've been at it for what seemed like a long time now, it was probably the afternoon now but the blonde was soo tired he didn't really care if it was nighttime right now. Opening his eyes slowly he saw Gaara staring right at him looking just as exhausted himself and gave a slight smile, "You look like crap…"

Gaara pouted, "You don't look any better than me…"

They stared for a bit before busting out laughing then coughing a little having laughed too hard. There was a sigh as Yamato appeared before them, handing them some water for the boys to drink. Not wasting any time they took the water that was given to them and started chugging down their throats no longer feeling dry.

Naruto finished his first, "I feel alive again!"

Gaara finished his second, "My throat doesn't feel dry anymore."

"That's good, and good work you two." Yamato complimented.

"I agree, for your efforts you two may take a break. Go on and relax until its time for you to train again." Rasa told them.

Naruto got up quickly dragging Gaara with him and running down the stairs not even saying "see you later" to the adults. Yamato sweat-dropped, "Well now…someone's eager."

Rasa made a small huff in amusement, "So it seems."

Meanwhile the boys were running as far away from the tower as possible before the man changed his mind, slowing down a little to catch their breaths they smiled before walking at a slow pace just taking in the sight of the village. Well, Naruto was anyway.

"That was harsh! Your dad's trying to kill us!" Naruto grumbled.

Gaara looked confused and a little scared, "He-He is?"

Naruto tried to calm him down; "I don't mean it like that Gaara! I mean his training's really hard!"

"Oh…" Gaara said.

Something caught Naruto's eye prompting him to walk over to it as Gaara followed right behind him. The blonde walked inside the building cautiously, seeing what looked to be human sized dolls everywhere looking right down at them.

"What are these things?" Naruto stared.

"I don't know." Gaara edged closer to Naruto.

"Their puppets."

Naruto's iron sand reacted about to harm the owner of the voice, but after seeing it was an elderly woman he willed it to not attack her and simply took in her features. She had black eyes and lavender coloured hair tied in a bun, wearing the traditional Sunagakure outfit which consists of a dark coloured, loose fitting outfit with a poncho-like top. The blonde didn't say a word for a few minutes and simply stared at the elderly woman, Gaara had long since hidden behind him out of pure shyness.

"Who are you, baa-chan?" Naruto questioned.

The elderly woman stared at him for a few more minutes before replying, "Do they not teach you manners Konoha?"

"Eh?"

"If you want me to tell you my name you must first introduce yourself." She stated.

"Oh, okay…I'm Naruto Uzumaki and this is my best friend Gaara." Naruto introduced.

Gaara peaked his head out from behind Naruto shyly, "Hello…"

The woman rubbed the blonde's head, then Gaara's confusing both boys before she smiled, "Good. That's a proper introduction, my name is Chiyo."

"Chiyo-baa-chan!" Naruto grinned.

"Chiyo-baa-sama." Gaara said standing next to Naruto.

Chiyo got into a thinking pose, "Hmmm, I like you boys so I'll let you look around while you're here, follow me." She walked away prompting the boys to follow her as they looked at the puppets all around them. It was kind of creepy actually, the way their faces would just stare down at you with hollow eyes.

"Interested, young man?" Chiyo questioned not looking behind her.

"Eh?"

"The puppets, judging by the look on your face you've become interested in them, haven't you?" Chiyo guessed.

Naruto eyed the puppets again; "Kind of…they are just normal puppets, right?"

"These puppets are special," Chiyo explained, "Kugutsutsukai use them in battle as a unique fighting style ninjutsu. We call it, Kugutsu no Jutsu."

"Wow…that sounds so cool…" Naruto said in awe.

"Mm." Gaara agreed.

Chiyo chuckled at their interest, "At least some youngers nowadays can appreciate how useful puppets can be."

"How do you use them, Chiyo-baa-chan?" Naruto asked.

Chiyo gave them a smug look, "Well now, why don't I just show you." One of the smaller puppets from her right that was sitting on the table stood up suddenly taking them by surprise as they watched it walk over to them slowly. Naruto and Gaara were intrigued as the little puppet continued to walk over to them.

"It's moving! It's really moving!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Amazing!" Gaara stared at it with interest.

Chiyo couldn't suppress her grin even if she tried, "In this old woman's opinion, puppetry is the perfect choice for learning about many things."

"Like what!" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Let's see, there's learning about Chakra control." She demonstrated this by revealing her chakra thread fingers that were connected to the puppet making it move.

"That's amazing! How are you doing that?" Naruto questioned.

"I'm using Chakra threads to make the puppet move." Chiyo explained.

"Chakra Threads?" they tilted their heads.

"It's a technique that puppeteers like me use to allow me to control the puppets you see before you. These threads are made by my own concentrated chakra, but other people besides me the user can still see them. A skilled user however, can suppress the chakra so that the strings become invisible like myself. I can manipulate whatever is attached to these strings, be it a puppet or a human being." She explained.

Naruto was completely hooked on the idea to use chakra threads to control puppets, but he had no idea how to use the chakra threads at all and would need some help, "Hey, Chiyo-baa-chan?"

"What is it?"

"Can you teach me how to control my chakra?" Naruto asked her seriously taking the older woman by surprise, even Gaara.

"Why the sudden request?"

He turned his attention towards the puppet, "You said no one appreciates puppet user's anymore, right? Then its okay if I learn from you!"

Chiyo for a split second thought she saw the image of her grandson stand before her showing the same enthusiasm for learning puppetry just like this young boy. The old woman smiled, _'He may be the son of the Yondaime Hokage, but he has a kind heart. In our world that's frowned upon, but that's part of the old generation. I think its time we old folks step down and leave the rest to them.'_ she thought fondly, "Very well, but I'm a strict teacher…by the time I'm done with you this old woman will eat you up!"

"Oni-baba!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Who are you calling Oni-baba?!" Chiyo had a tick mark on her forehead.

Gaara giggled at the interaction, his best friend was so funny.

* * *

Yamato walked side by side with the Kazekage down the village roads seeing the villagers do their normal routine looking relaxed. Very interesting.

"They seem more relaxed compared to the first time we came here." Yamato observed.

Rasa eyed the villagers, "Its probably because of the fact that Naruto is here and possesses Satetsu, which hasn't been seen since the Sandaime Kazekage's era. You can't blame them for having such a reaction for the man was probably the most powerful Kazekage we've ever had."

"I see, just like the Shodaime Hokage." Yamato commented.

"By the way, does the boy know who his father is?" Rasa inquired.

Yamato shook his head, "No, Sandaime-sama was very clear that his origins remain a secret until he was old enough to know about it. Don't tell me you plan to…"

"I will not," Rasa assured him, "If that is what Hiruzen believes to be the best then I will leave it at that. To be honest, the reason I'm even asking you this is because the boy has a somewhat…curious personality."

"You don't think he might…"

"Be curious about who his parents were? Its possible, children are curious about many things. Its just how they are." Rasa explained.

"That's true…but if by some chance he does find out about who his parents were, Hokage-sama will be tearing some heads." Yamato said.

Rasa actually chuckled, something he had been doing a lot lately since these two from Konoha came here. The Suna council had been breathing down his back about getting Naruto to stay here, and just kill off Gaara but that wasn't going to happen. He may be the Kazekage and has to put the safety of the villagers as one of his priorities, but…he was still a father and not a very good one either. Sunagakure is in financial trouble because their Daimyo keeps sending mission requests to Konoha instead of here, and the only option he could think of was to make his youngest a Jinchuriki which proved to be the biggest mistake of his life because it cost him his wife Karura and Gaara a childhood. Even his own siblings refused to go near him, which was also his fault. When Hiruzen sent a leader saying he would be sending their Jinchuriki under the cover of it being a studying abroad program when in real life it was to help the boy control his Satetsu he saw it as an opportunity to help his son and make up for the suffering he caused because of his mistake.

And it was the only good decision he made as his reign as Kazekage.

"Ow!"

Both men paused when they saw both boys attempt to wall walk up a building being observed by an elderly woman who looked really familiar…wait a minute.

"Chiyo-sama?" Rasa stared.

"Whose that?" Yamato asked.

"She used to be on the council but retired," Rasa explained, "Her name is Chiyo, but we all refer to her as Chiyo-sama because of her experience with puppetry. She's a strong elder."

"I see, but what is she doing with the boys?"

"I…have no idea."

"Try again!" Chiyo ordered.

Naruto and Gaara groaned before channeling chakra to their feet once more and slowly walking up the side of a building much to the astonishment of Rasa and Yamato as they approached the elderly woman.

"So that's what your doing." Rasa observed.

Chiyo huffed at him, "If they want any hope of surviving then they need to know this! We will not be leaving this spot until you two make it to the top!"

"Oni-baba!" Naruto shouted.

"Watch it, boy!" Chiyo warned.

Yamato sweat-dropped at the bizarre nickname, _'Oni-baba?'_

Rasa coughed into his fist, "How long have they been doing this?"

"For about an hour, and judging by what I'm seeing they're almost to the top." Chiyo watched as the boys were taking their time and eventually made it to the very top of the building, "Not bad. Now, walk back down!" she ordered laughing at them when she could distinctly hear them groan.

Yamato whispered to the Kazekage, "She's quite the sadist, isn't she?"

"No, but she is mischievous." Rasa whispered back.

"What are you two brats whispering about over there?" Chiyo questioned not even looking back at them.

"Nothing, ma'am!" Yamato assured her.

"Hmph!"

* * *

Yamato smiled as he carried the little blonde on his back while he slept soundly. After their chakra control lesson was done thanks to Chiyo-sama they all went to get something to eat, once their bellies were full it didn't take long for little ones to fall asleep as soon as they finished eating. Yamato gave Naruto a piggyback while Rasa the Kazekage did the same for Gaara making the villagers drop their jaws witnessing such a scene. He wasn't surprised seeing as how the man hadn't showed affection to anyone before, not even his own children so the reaction was understandable. Back in Konoha the Sandaime didn't hesitate to show the blonde affection and didn't care who had a problem with it either.

Having said goodbye to the Kazekage he headed back to the hotel they were staying in until they eventually leave in 4 years. Placing Naruto down on the bed and tucking him in the man left the room for a few minutes.

* * *

 _Blue eyes stared straight into the eyes of a large serpent like creature that was black in color with red eyes staring right back. Between them was a blade that was blue in color and shaped like a kunai, the blade was surrounded by different colored orbs. Green, red, yellow, orange, and blue were the colors that were present._

 _Blue eyes still kept the gaze of the creature as it started speaking in what sounded like an ancient voice._

 ** _"_** ** _Take up the blade and become my connection."_**

* * *

Naruto woke up suddenly looking around the room he was in panicking a little but soon calmed down once he saw Yamato sleeping next to him. Having calmed down a little he went back to sleep unaware he was clutching something in his hand that was similar to the blade in his dream.

* * *

 **Next Time: Ryūjin**


	3. Ryūjin

Sorry for the long update, I've been calling my grandmother to check on my gramps since he has lung cancer and dumbass doctors don't know what the hell they're doing since they punctured his lung. She's been keeping me updated and said he's fine so I can concentrate on school work and my stories again. Enjoy!

* * *

Naruto wakes up to see a mysterious blade in the bed with him unable to remember where it came from. He tells Yamato who doesn't recognize it from anywhere and decides to think about it later. Naruto and Gaara continue their training with both Rasa and Chiyo all the while a mysterious voice tries to call out to the little blonde. Who could the voice belong to?

* * *

Clear blue eyes opened up at the start of a new day in Sunagakure no Sato. The little blonde sat up and rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes before yawning and stretching his arms above his head only to freeze in place when he felt something in the palm of his hand. Bringing his arms down he stared a a blade, but it wasnt just any blade, it was the same one from his dream.

"What?" He inspected it himself and it was a little big for him to wield, not to mention heavy. There was something else in his dream that he vaguely remembered seeing...what was it again? Moving his other hand around in the bed he spotted the same colored orbs from his dream too!

"What's going on?" Naruto blinked at the orbs in his bed.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Yamato mumbled waking up with a yawn.

"Nii-san, look at this!" Naruto showed the man his new blade and picked up an orb too.

Yamato woke up immediately eyeing the blade carefully but didn't touch it, "Where did you get this? More importantly, how did you get it?"

"In a dream." Naruto said calmly.

Silence.

"...Huh?" Was Yamato's intelligent response.

"I'm serious! I was dreaming and saw something, it was speaking to me and then I was this blade, and these orbs!" Naruto placed the orb in his hand before Yamato.

Yamato inspected the orb this time and wondered why it was orange, not only that but he saw the blonde had other orbs that were in the bed with him.

"Where did these come from?" The older man questioned.

"They came from my dream too, what's going on?" Naruto wanted to know what was happening.

Yamato wanted to know what was going on too, but had no answer. He didn't sense anyone had come in the room last night so the boy's claim of this kunai weapon coming to him in a dream as well as the orbs. Giving the blade one last look he addressed the confused boy, "For now we should focus more on your training and think about it later."

"Okay." Naruto nodded.

He washed up and got ready for the day all the while still trying to think about what his dream was trying to tell him, no what that creature he saw was trying to tell him.

* * *

"Naruto!" Gaara greeted from on top of the Kazekage's tower. When the blonde didn't respond right away the red head became worried and tugged on the blonde's white shirt.

"Naruto?" Gaara called out worriedly.

The blonde was brought out of his deep thought thanks to the voice of Gaara, "Huh, oh what's up?"

"Are you okay?" Gaara asked.

Naruto smiled, "I'm okay, just a little tired."

Gaara blinked, "Can you not sleep either?"

"Eh?"

"Oya, looks like you two brats are here early. Good." Chiyo arrived with the Kazekage who stood next to Yamato.

"What are we learning today, Chiyo-baa-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Since you two have done well in your chakra control I believe its time to see what your chakra affinities are." Chiyo said.

"Chakra affinities?" Naruto and Gaara questioned.

Chiyo nodded, "Every person's chakra has an affinity for fire, water, lightning, earth, and wind," she took out two chakra papers, "What I have in my hands are Chakura Kannōshi's (Chakra Induction Paper's). By applying chakra to these papers it will tell me what your affinities are, if its fire then it will ignite and turn to ash, if its water then it will become damp, if its lightning then it will wrinkle, if its earth then it will turn to dirt and crumble away, and if its wind then it will split in two." she explained.

Naruto was beginning to understand even if the explanation was too long for his liking, but knew it was necessary to explain the details to him. His affinity could either be, fire, wind, water, earth, or lightning, none sounded too bad in his opinion. He took the chakra paper from her and Gaara followed his example and started channeling chakra into the paper and watched as both sliced in half.

So they both have an affinity for Fūton, huh?

"Fūton (Wind Style) appears to be both of your affinities it seems." Chiyo observed impressed Naruto's affinity was for wind.

"Hey Chiyo-baa-chan, is Fūton common here?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Chiyo gave him a hum of approval, "You ask the right questions young man, instead of it being common among the citizens here in Sunagakure no Sato you could say its more common among blood. Take Gaara for example who is the son of the Kazekage, sometimes affinities are blood related and sometimes it just comes with the territory. For example, Kirigakure no Sato are known for their Suiton (Water Style) jutsu's because of the moisture in the atmosphere.

Naruto stared at his paper in wonder, "Oh..."

The old woman clapped her hands getting their attention was again, "Now that we know what your affinities are we can start teaching you wind style jutsu's at a later time but for today we will be working more on controlling your sand."

"Yes ma'am!" Both boys said.

Both boys wasted no time in practicing in trying to control their sand, Gaara was making faces again but they were all of Naruto who is obviously his favorite person in whole world. Naruto meanwhile closed his eyes trying to figure out what he shaped his iron sand into but couldn't come up with anything. A light suddenly appeared in the dark, as he reached out his hand he saw the face a beautiful woman with long red hair and purple eyes giving him a gentle smile. He reached out to the face with both hands and tried to touch it but Yamato's voice brought him back to reality.

"Naruto!"

Snapping his eyes open he saw his iron sand created the face of the woman he just saw, the iron face of the woman was hovering above him both hands covering him as though it were protecting him from the world.

"Wow..." Gaara stared.

Naruto's gaze was held on the face his iron sand created, "Did I...do this?"

"That you did, who is this woman?" Chiyo asked curiously.

Naruto didn't know but his chest told another story as it felt painful all of a sudden, "She's...I don't...huh?" The iron sand around him began to move on its own as if responding to his emotional turmoil, "She's...she's..." he grabbed his chest painfully.

"Naruto, calm down!" Yamato tried to go over to him but Gaara beat him to it placing a hand on his head calming the blonde down.

"Does it hurt?" Gaara questioned feeling sad for his friend, "It's all right..."

Naruto realized he was crying and wiped his tears away before giving Gaara a heartfelt smile, "I know who she is..."

"The woman?" Gaara said.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded, "She's my mom, I don't know her name but I just know...she's my mom."

Chiyo moved closer to the boys just as Gaara removed his hand from his friends head, allowing the elder to have a turn, "I see, your mother." She rubbed his head.

Naruto clenched his chest tightly, "It hurts, but...I feel happy because I know...that I had a mom, and she loved me." He tried to keep himself from crying but it didn't help. Two arms suddenly pulled him in an embrace, Chiyo smiled as she did this.

"That's good," she said softly, "Keep that memory with you, never let it go." She regretted not doing this with her grandson all those years ago, if she had then maybe...

Naruto held onto the elderly woman as he cried for very first time, even back in Konoha he never cried, not once. But here in Suna he was free to cry as much as he wanted.

So he did.

Gaara didn't know what to do as he saw Chiyo hug his friend who started to cry, a hand on his shoulder brought him out of his confusion as he saw it was his father's hand on his shoulder, "Go to him." Was all the man said as the little red head went over to the two and was pulled into the group hug.

Rasa and Yamato observed from a distance, "This is the first time I've seen the boy cry."

"Same here." Yamato commented getting a confused look from Rasa, "You know Naruto is just like Gaara, but not once have we seen him cry. This would the first time I've seen it."

Rasa turned his attention back over to the blonde, "The boy is strong-willed."

"He is."

After the water works were over they got right back to training, Naruto and Gaara had finally managed to control their sand enough to the point where it will only activate if it sensed any hostile intent. After that was finished Chiyo brought them back to her workshop where her puppets were, Gaara showed no interest in puppets but loved watching them move. Naruto was a different story though, he was given a doll size puppet to practice with. Learning to control his chakra from Chiyo proved to be helpful for he was able to move the little doll slowly on the table much to Yamato's amazement.

"It's his first try and so far he's doing well." Yamato observed.

Rasa was impressed, "Impressive, my oldest has taken an interest in puppets recently. I'm impressed the boy's able to control his chakra perfectly."

"Thanks to Chiyo-sama's guidance." Yamato said.

"Mm, Chiyo-sama was once feared on the battlefield back in her day, even now she's still feared." Rasa commented.

"That I can believe." Yamato agreed.

Chiyo nodded her head at the blonde, "Very well done, Naruto. You're getting the hang of it." She complimented.

Naruto smiled, "Thanks, but I have a long way to before I reach your level."

"Hmph! You're a hundred years too young to even think you could reach my level, brat!" Chiyo teased.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "That a challenge? I'll take you up on that then, hag."

Chiyo's eyebrow twitched this time, "Who are you calling hag, you little midget?!"

"I'm not midget, this is normal for someone of my size!" Naruto retorted.

"Hah! That I highly doubt!"

"Says the smallest person here!"

"Disrespectful little-!"

Gaara giggled at their banter, while Rasa and Yamato either sighed or shook their heads, but Yamato was smiling on the inside. Back in Konoha the elderly were especially vicious to him because some of them lost children and grandchildren during the whole Kyubi attack, so to see him act this way around Chiyo was blessing.

She became his surrogate grandmother.

And that was fine with Yamato.

"Just you wait, I'll surpass both you and the Third Kazekage!" Naruto declared.

This took Rasa and Chiyo by surprise, he wants to surpass the Third Kazekage? With the progress he's showing with his Satetsu he just might. Until now, everyone in the village believed the Magnet Release kekkei genkai was dead and gone with the dissapearance of the Sandaime Kazekage. But with Naruto here, even if it was just for a short while he just might be able to surpass the man who was known as the second strongest Kazekage.

Chiyo flicked his forehead, "See if you can, you brat."

Naruto gave her a challenging grin, "You bet!"

 ** _"...rat..."_**

The blonde stilled and looked around the puppet room wanting to know where that voice was coming from but saw no one, but the people gathered here.

"Naruto?" Gaara called his friend back to reality.

"Huh?" Naruto jerked his head towards his friend.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Uh...yeah, I'm okay! Just spaced out a bit!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

Yamato wasn't convinced though and wondered what that was all about, but decided to wait until the blonde was ready to tell the man himself.

* * *

Naruto stared at the scroll in his hands that was given to him by Chiyo-baa-chan yesterday. It contains all of the techniques of the Sandaime Kazekage, there were a total of six and they were all hand written by the Kazekage himself. Opening the scroll he looked at the list of techniques.

 **1) Satetsu Shigure (Iron Sand Shower)-It is a gunshot-like attack which uses Iron Sand hardened into minuscule grains to attack simultaneously across a vast range. The bullets are so fast that they are difficult to see. The moment the user has finished preparing the attack, evading it becomes extremely difficult. Using the repellent force of magnetism, the speed of the bullets is rapidly increased after they are shot. Furthermore, you can also use an attack pattern where the Iron Sand bullets are shaped into sharp needles, increasing their ability to wound or kill the opponent.**

 **2) Satetsu Kesshū (Iron Sand Gathering)-This technique greatly increases the hardness of the Iron Sand, creating a gigantic steel-like weapon in an instant. The weight and size of these shapes are so great, they can easily shatter bedrock and break through most defences with a single hit.**

 **3) Satetsu Kaihō (Iron Sand: Needle Sphere)-This technique uses Iron Sand to create a gigantic sphere of branching spikes. You must first create two masses of Iron Sand of opposing magnetic fields and then merges them together. This causes the magnetic forces to instantly increase and the repellent force created by the two opposing magnetic fields scatters the Iron Sand across a vast area.**

 **4) Satetsusō (Iron Sand Spear)-This large, triangular shaped weapon allows you to penetrate through defences as strong as rock. It can be spun to pick it up even more power, giving it a drill-like appearance. It can also be shaped into a thinner, but longer version of it to increase its range.**

 **5) Gosunkugi (Five Sun Nails)-These long spikes, besides capable of penetrating through someone's body, can be used to attack multiple targets.**

 **6) Kyodai Tettsui (Giant Hammer)-This giant block-like weapon can be used to crush its target with devstating poweris a giant block that is used to crush the target.**

These jutsu's were pretty impressive though and he couldn't wait to try them out today, but its best to start slow, so if he manages to get the first one down then he'll move straight to the next one. His goal for today is to master two of the justu's in this scroll.

He walked behind the Kazekage's tower because that's where the private training ground was located. As he arrived he spotted Gaara was standing there smiling as though he were waiting for him to show up.

"Gaara?"

"Naruto!"

"You came to use the training ground, too?" Naruto asked.

Gaara shook his head, "I was waiting for you. I knew you would come so I waited."

Naruto blinked, "How did you know I'd be here..." he trailed off spotting a giant eyeball looking down at him.

 _'Is that...a giant eyeball?!'_

"Uh...Gaara?" Naruto said slowly.

"Yes?"

Naruto pointed at the giant eyeball, "Did you create that...eyeball?"

Gaara smiled, "It's an eyeball I created. It can see things from far away, that's how i knew you were going to come here."

Naruto had no words.

He was literally speechless.

"Uh...okay," he said unsurely, "Anyway, Chiyo-baa-chan gave me this scroll that was written by the Sandaime Kazekage. I'm gonna try out a jutsu from here."

"Okay." Gaara said.

Naruto opened the scroll knowing just the technique he wanted to use, positioning himself before three sand stumps he took a deep breath making the Ram hand sign, "Satetsu Shigure (Iron Sand Shower)!" Gathering his iron sand he shot it towards the stump in the middle, watching as it pierced through it quickly.

He stared at what he'd just done before a huge smile stretched his face.

He did it!

He really did it!

"Did you see that, Gaara?! I did it! I really did it!" Naruto was jumping up and down with glee.

"You did! That was amazing, Naruto!" Gaara smiled.

Naruto grinned as he gave his friend the peace sign as he managed to get the first jutsu down without any problems. That's one down and another one to go.

 ** _"...rat..."_**

He froze in place.

It was that voice again.

Looking around he once again didn't see anyone, but he knew he heard a voice just now. Where was it? Was it...in his head...?

 ** _"...brat..."_**

"What? Brat?" Naruto said hearing it much clearly now than he did the first time.

Gaara tilted his head in confusion as his friend seemed to be talking to himself, "What's wrong?"

"No...I don't know, but I think its that same voice from yesterday again. I can hear it." Naruto told his friend.

"A voice? You hear a voice, too?" Gaara said seemingly surprised at another thing they had in common.

"Yeah...just now, I heard it call me brat." Naruto said.

"Brat?"

 ** _"...brat...can you...hear me...?"_**

"There it is again! But it asked if I could hear it this time!" Naruto covered his ears freaking out a little.

"It did?"

"Yeah, what do I do?" Naruto questioned.

"Try responding to it." Gaara suggested.

Naruto took a deep breath and tried out his friends idea, "Y-Yeah, I can hear you."

He waited for the voice to respond again, and wasn't dissapointed when he got a response.

 ** _"Hmmm, so you can finally hear me. Your mind was being guarded by an unfamiliar being, making it difficult for me to speak."_**

Naruto blinked at the long explanation and wasn't sure how to respond to that, "Um, sorry...?"

 ** _"Do not apologize, the being sealed within you was preventing my voice from coming through but no more now that we have a stable connection."_**

"A Being sealed inside me?" Naruto didn't understand what the voice was talking about and decided to ask Yamato about it later, "Who are you?"

 ** _"I will tell you my name another time, besides we met in your dreams though it appears you don't remember."_**

"We met in my dreams?"

 ** _"Yes, I am the one that gave you that blade and the orbs. You are the summoner I have chosen, do not disappoint me."_**

Naruto could feel that was the end of the conversation as he didn't hear the voice say anything else. He looked to his friend Gaara, "I should tell Yamato about this."

Gaara agreed with him.

 **Inside the Tower**

Yamato stood there as Naruto explained what happened just now at the training ground, he knew something was wrong yesterday but when they got back to the hotel they were staying in the boy wasn't in the talking mood and simply went to sleep. But now, this voice he heard came back and it scared him a little. Yamato instantly thought it was the Kyūbi, but from what Naruto was describing it couldn't be that so maybe it was something else. From the sounds of it this voice in his head sounded like it was part of a summoning contract.

Yamato thought about that theory before turning to Naruto, "It might be a summoning trying to get into contact with you, probably."

"A summoning?"

"There are many summoning animals and contracts out there, this one may be no different. From what you've said, it sounds like to me this summoning animal contacted you in a dream first before contacting you again. Looks like its chosen you to be its summoner." Chiyo explained.

"But what summoning animal is it?" Rasa questioned.

"That I don't know, it could be any animal there are a lot of them out there," Chiyo said sounding unsure, "But from what I'm hearing this one might be special like Konoha's Toads, Slugs, and Snake summoning contracts." She was referring to Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.

Naruto looked down, "It said something else too, how a being sealed inside me was preventing it from contacting me."

Yamato flinched as his eyes trailed over to Rasa and Chiyo unsure of what to say and from the looks on their faces they don't know what so say either, so the wood user simply placed a hand on the blondes head.

"Don't worry about it, just focus on your training." Yamato smiled.

Naruto looked up at the male giving him a small smile, "Right..." he was still bothered by it a little but let it go for now. The one thing he still wanted to know about was the blade he was given, and hopefully he'll get his answers soon.

* * *

He stared at the strange blade in his hand, wondering what its special abilities were. Whatever it was the orbs were connected to it, the only problem was how the hell was he supposed to figure out what the blade was supposed to do along with the orbs? Looking at the whole carved in the blade he placed the red orb in the circle waiting to see what would happen. As soon as the orb was in place the blade turned red making his eyes widen having not expected this at all.

"W-Wow...so this is what the orbs are for," Naruto said staring at the blade in absolute awe holding the blade up, "I wonder if it has a name?"

 ** _"It does."_**

He jumped as he heard the voice again, "What's it called?"

 ** _"Ryūjin (Dragon Blade)."_**

"Ryūjin (Dragon Blade)..." Naruto repeated.

 ** _"It is a powerful blade from our clan that has chosen you to be its wielder."_**

Naruto plopped down on the bed he took the orb out of the blade, "Hey, are you gonna tell me your name?"

 ** _"Not yet. It is not yet time for you to know. Patience is required."_**

Rolling over on his side he snuggled his face in the pillow before closing his eyes, he a little disappointed because he only learned one jutsu from the scroll instead of two like he was determined to but oh well. With a deep sigh he succumbed to sleep vowing he'd deal with this stuff tomorrow, but right now he needed sleep.

And lots of it.

* * *

 **Next Time : Ryū no Kuni**


End file.
